


You Can Call My Lawyer

by Miliz



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, F/F, Female Friendship, Investigations, Lawyers, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-04-07 16:23:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4269993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miliz/pseuds/Miliz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life hasn't always been easy on Emma, but now she just landed a job as an investigator in a well renowned Law Firm, so things are finally falling into place, right? Yeah, if she hadn't pissed off her boss in the first day. Sure, Regina Mills is the best attorney in town, and sure, she looks great on a suit, but she's also known as the Evil Queen who happens to own the place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mills & Blanchard Law Firm

Emma was late. Not terribly late, not yet, but any late was too much for the first day on the job. It wasn’t her fault - the train got stuck for almost twenty minutes on the way to Penn Station -, but maybe, just maybe, she shouldn’t have stopped for a coffee.

She pulled the café’s door and her shoulder ached when it didn’t open. She frowned and tried pushing it, but the sticker on the glass instructed her to pull. Great, now she would make a fool of herself trying to get out of a goddamn café.

“It gets stucked sometimes,” A waiter told her, passing by. “Just pull it harder.”

“Thanks,” Emma nodded to him and reached for the door again, this time yanking it open with a lot more vehemence.

Of course, the door wasn’t jammed anymore. It slammed open easily and all the force Emma used to pull it made her bounce on her feet. She swang her arm in the air, trying to regain balance and not let the coffee on her other hand drop. Then she felt her hand accidentally hitting someone behind her.   

There was a gasp, a splash, a muffled swearing, and then:

“You have got to be kidding me!”

Emma turned around, already saying, “I’m sorry…”

“Look at what you did!”

Actually, Emma was already looking, almost inescapably. And what she saw was a light blue silk shirt - now with a big brown stain over it - and tanned collarbone with drops of coffee that slid down the only way possible, to the valley between the breasts.

“I’m so sorry, the door was jammed and I…”

“And you thought you should yank it open like a savage?!”

Emma’s eyes went up to the clouded face. Dark eyes stared back at her, raging.

“I’m really sorry, maybe some cold water…?”

“Yes, sure, let’s play the wet shirt contest! You’re clearly brilliant.”

“Look, I’m trying to apologize. I’m just late for my job, so I was trying to get out. It was an accident. I’m sorry.”

“Funny thing, I was on time, and now I’m certainly going to be late.”

The woman reached for the door, which had closed again when Emma let it go.

Sure thing, it was jammed. The woman took a deep breath, pushed it a little then pulled again, making it slide open.

“How hard,” She hissed to Emma on her way out. Then slammed the door shut behind her.

“Damn, that was intense,” The waiter had approached her again, a wet cloth on his hand.

“Tell me about it,” Emma sighed. “Here, let me help you with that. I’m really sorry…”

“No, chill out, you go. Aren’t you late?”

“Shit,” Emma glanced at her clock. “Shit, I’m so late.”

The waiter waved her goodbye.

* * *

 

**~SQ~**

“Good morning, can I help you?” The secretary gave Emma a sweet smile, taking off her glasses.

“Yes. I’m Emma Swan, the new Junior Investigator. I suppose Ms. Lucas is waiting for me?”

“Oh, right! I’ll call her.”

“Thank you,” Emma backed away and sat on one of the comfortable chairs of the reception area. The place was high class, pastel walls and expensive art work on display. Even if Emma didn’t know the kind of clientele that law firm attended, she’d have guessed for that waiting room.  

The secretary whispered a few words on the phone then hung up.

“She’s coming to get you.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Literally,” She smiled again and Emma smiled back. “I’m Belle. If you need anything on those first days, don’t mind asking.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Emma,” Ruby Lucas showed up by the threshold and Emma got up in a hurry.

“Ms. Lucas,” She extended a hand. “I’m so sorry I’m late. The train got stuck...”

“Oh, please, you’re only ten minutes late,” She waved Emma off. “Hey, Belle,” She nodded to the secretary and made a gesture for Emma to follow her.

She also nodded one last time to the sympathetic receptionist before going after Ruby through the hallways.

“It’s a big floor, but you’ll learn to navigate through the corridors soon enough. In the meantime, don’t be ashamed to ask. I’ll give you the tour later and introduce you to some people, ok?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I’m sitting around here today, some searching work, so unfortunately you shouldn’t expect much action on your first day,” She glanced at Emma, a smile on her eyes.

“Oh, damn, I was hoping for an adventure,” Emma replied and the woman chuckled.

“Yeah, hold your horses, Bilbo Baggins,” She opened a door and got in. “Well, this is our office. That is my desk, this is yours. It should have everything you need. I scribbled your login on that post-it.”

“Thanks, ” Emma walked around and looked at the table. It was all settled, papers, pens, pencils, post-its, notebooks, clips and all, in perfect order. It wouldn’t remain like that much longer.

“No problem,” She sat on her own chair and smiled at Emma. “And call me Ruby, for God’s sake, because I won’t stick to ‘Ms. Swan’ either.”

Emma smiled.

“So, Ruby,” She sat down too and appreciated for a moment the comfortable chair, “where should I start?”

~SQ~

“Really, Ruby followed the guy for, what, three weeks? The wife swore he was banging the nanny,” Phillip Prince said, sipping his coffee.

“And you never found anything?” Emma asked, arching an eyebrow at Ruby.

“I wouldn’t, because he was not banging the nanny.”

“She was,” Prince emended, chuckling. “So, Ms. Swan, lesson number one: never trust the client.”

Emma shrugged.

“It shouldn’t be a problem, I never trust anyone.”

“What a cynic,” He teased her, shaking his head.

“Lucky you,” Ruby said. “There’s no better quality on an investigator.”

“That’s true,” Phillip smiled at them, that charming smile Emma could swear sent girls sighing for miles. “Well, I gotta go back to work, but it was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Swan.”

“You too, Mr. Prince.”

They shook hands and he smiled again.

“Look at us, being formals. It never lasts two minutes around here.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Ruby,” Phillip saluted her and winked. “I see you around.”

“He looks nice,” Emma said when he walked away.

“Oh, he is. Particularly nice with the newly divorced women that come to his office.”

“Occupational hazard, I guess?”

Ruby looked at her, narrowing her eyes.

“That’s how he calls it.”

Emma shrugged again.

“What a cynic?”

Ruby laughed.

“You’ll fit right in in here, you know.”

“I hope so.”

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team.”

The blonde nodded and followed Ruby again. They were passing by the lobby near to the entrance when the woman appeared. Emma saw her first. The dark eyes, the serious expression, the fitted suit. And then the shirt - the yellow immaculate shirt.

Then the woman saw her too. They both stopped midway, frowning.

“What are you doing here?” The woman asked first, her voice as sharp as it was an hour ago, when they bumped at the café.

Before Emma could open her mouth though, Ruby looked over her shoulder and took a step back.

“Regina,” She said, standing by Emma’s side. “This is our new Junior Investigator, Emma Swan. Remember she was starting today? Emma, this is Regina Mills, one of our partners.”

Emma cursed mentally. Regina Mills? Like in Mills & Blanchard Law Firm? No fucking way.

“You are the new Investigator?” Regina looked at Emma like she was surprised that the blonde managed to get out of that café at all.

“I am,” Emma replied, raising her chin just a bit. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Mills.”

“And who availed her hiring?” Regina demanded, all but ignoring Emma’s line and turning back to Ruby.

“Mary Margareth, as usual,” Now Ruby was frowning. “Do you know each other?” She looked from Regina to Emma and back. “Am I missing something here?”

“You’re certainly missing your better judgement, Ms. Lucas,” Regina vented, lips pursed. “Please, come to my office later.”

Then she walked away, leaving only a trace of fancy perfume on her trail.

“What the fuck was that?”

“Remember that coffee incident I told you about?” Emma said, scratching her forehead.

“Oh, no way.”

“Yeah.”

“Good lucky, my friend,” Ruby mumbled, resuming walking.

“Oh, come on, she won’t really hold a grudge, right? It was a freaking accident!”

“I’m sure she won’t,” Ruby replied, looking at Emma over her shoulder. “We’re just teasing around when we call her Evil Queen of Castle Hell behind her back.”

Emma sighed.

“For fucker’s fuck.”

Ruby laughed.

“Enjoy your first day, Ms. Swan.”

She better. Cause it might as well be the last one.

* * *

 

**~SQ~**

“So,” Ruby started when they got back to their office. “I guess that is pretty much it. The only one who is not here yet is Mary Margaret. She’s in court now, but will probably be back after lunch.”

“She is nice, too,” Emma commented.

“Yeah… one of the name partners should be,” Ruby winked at her with mischievous eyes.

The blonde felt her stomach drop. It was so like her to piss off the boss in the first day of work.

“You graduated in Information Technology, right?”

“So I said in my interview,” Emma smirked, trying to throw some jokes to forget about the staining-blouses-more-expansive-than-her-paycheck incident. Should she offer to pay for the dry cleaning?

Ruby laughed loudly.

“I am lying-résumés proof.”

“Figures, Senior Investigator.”

Ruby made a dismissive gesture and started rummaging through the cabinet in the corner.

“Anyway, I was going to say I’m doing this search online, but you probably know it better than me.”

Emma shrugged. Finding things online was her expertise. If it was at any dark corner of the web, she would discover it.

Ruby closed the cabinet and dropped some files on Emma’s desk.

“So you don’t bore yourself to death today, I was instructed to show you our current cases. Then you can get acquainted to our clients and modus operandi. ”

“Thanks,” Emma said, promptly grabbing the one on top.

“Sure.”

The blonde didn’t even get to the other file. Something about that first one picked her interest. The last trial day was scheduled to happen in the next day, so it was pretty recent. On the heading, the case was marked as Regina Mills’. It should probably be a clear sign to stay away, but she found herself reading through it carefully.

Mr. Preston was accused of killing in cold blood a woman he allegedly dated six months ago. He had sent several incriminating messages to the victim, but he had an alibi to the time she was killed.

When Emma got to the client’s deposition and read where he had gone that night she sensed something was off.

Might as well find out.

“I am starving!” Ruby burst out, stretching out on her chair.

Emma glanced at her watch. Her eyes popped out when she saw it was already one in the afternoon. She was so focused she didn’t notice the time passing.

“Wanna grab a bite to eat?”

Emma hesitantly eyed her computer. She was one hour or so to finish her research, but eating alone today probably wasn’t the best idea.

“Yeah, let’s go,” She answered, reaching out for her purse.

“How do you like tacos?”

* * *

 

**~SQ~**

Emma was just finishing saving all the relevant information she collected when a small brunette with a pixie haircut entered their office.

“Hey, MM!” Ruby greeted from her table, not bothering to stand up.

“Ruby!” The brunette smiled at the woman. “Hey, Emma!”

Emma got up and extended her hand, but Mary Margaret just ignored it and gave her a quick hug, catching her by surprise. In the interview the brunette was all handshakes, but now that Emma was hired the salutation ways had apparently evolved; which didn’t change how odd was seeing the successful lawyer being so effusive.

“How is your first day so far?” Mary Margaret asked with a smile.

“Great. Ruby showed me around. Great space.”

“I am glad.”

The woman peeked at Emma’s computer.

“Can I ask you what are you working on?”

“Well, just looking through some files. One, actually;  the Preston case.”

“Oh! The one accused of first degree murder, right?”

“Yeah…” Emma scratched the back of her head. “That is the one.”

“He is Regina’s client. Have you met her already?”

“Oh yes, you can bet I have,” Emma deadpanned.

Mary Margaret looked at her like she had caught on what Emma meant behind her words, but instead of commenting on it, she just continued talking about the case.

“Regina is pretty confident with this one. He has a lot on his back, but thankfully also has a good alibi, so will probably be cleaned of all charges.”

“But you know the guy is guilty, right?” Emma blurted before she could restrain herself.

Mary Margaret stared at her like Emma had just grown a second head.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Yeah… I mean… I just finished checking his story and…”

“Hold that thought!” Mary Margaret raised a finger.

The brunette stepped out of the office, and was clearly leaving when she spotted someone and made a ‘come here’ gesture.

“Mary Margaret,” Emma listened to Regina’s voice, but couldn’t quite see her yet. There went her stomach doing strange flips again. “What is it? I need to prepare myself for court tomorrow.”

“As a matter of fact, Regina, that’s precisely why I called you here. Emma seems to have a relevant input to the case.”

“Oh, does she?” Regina drawled, walking into the office like she owned the place. Well, the blonde had to remind herself, technically she did.

“Yes, she was telling me that Mr.Preston is guilty.”

Dark charcoal eyes bored into green ones and Regina scowled.

“That’s quite impossible. He has an alibi. If Ms. Swan had bothered to read until the end of the…”

“I read it,” Emma interjected. She had a handful of flaws, yes, but being lazy on her job was not one of them. “The alibi is inconsistent.”

Regina raised an eyebrow at her. There stood a woman that clearly wasn’t used to be interrupted. Emma raised her chin just in case.

“Pray tell, how is that likely?” The woman said every word deliberatively, her stare burning into Emma, challenging her.

Mary Margaret was already sitting on the chair in front of Emma’s desk, looking at her expectantly. Regina, on the other hand, seemed rooted to the ground.

The blonde cleared her throat, turning the display of her computer so everybody could see it.

“Both him and his alibi, Ms. Manning, alleged they were at the Pasta Gialo by the time the murder took place. Now, I don’t know if you guys have ever been there, but the place is like… crazy crowded.”

“Eloquently put, Ms. Swan.”

Emma ignored and continued.

“You just can’t get inside if you don’t make reservation weeks before. And according to the notes, he didn’t have one.  Now–” She raised her voice just a little when it was obvious Regina was going to interrupt again. “Yes, he could have just given someone money to get in, but that doesn’t actually make so much sense, because yes, the guy is loaded, but so is everybody there; he is not famous or anything. And in fact, the restaurant has a policy against bribery. So what is the next assumption? He knows someone on the inside. But according to the internet, and the internet knows everything about social circles, Mr. Preston doesn’t know a single employee there.”

Emma took a breath and assessed her audience. Mary Margaret seemed a bit interested, but Regina just looked plain skeptical.

“He could have skipped the line,” Mary Margaret offered with an apologetic smile and Regina scoffed at Emma.

“Yes, but with the security there? Not probable. Plus, he doesn’t have a receipt for the dinner.”

“He paid in cash,” Regina answered like Emma was stupid.

The blonde had to take another breath to avoid snapping at her boss. That would be the cherry on top of the cake after spilling hot coffee on her.

“It’s an expensive place. Who carry that much money on their pocket nowadays?”

“Are you working for the prosecution, Ms. Swan?” Of course Regina wouldn’t mind snapping at her.

“I’m working for you, and that’s why I am raising those questions.” Emma answered calmly, her eyes defiant against dark ones.

“Those questions have been raised already. If you work for us, do try using your time with relevant issues.”

Oh boy, now Emma couldn’t be more satisfied with the coffee accident.

“Let her speak…” Mary Margaret said gently, but firmly. “It’s that all, Emma? It’s good info, but as Regina said, it has already been taken into account-”

“It’s not all, no. I am just starting,” She actually smiled, because if they didn’t know, what was to follow would just be the best part.  “So a full investigation has been conducted on Mr. Preston, but had the same attention been spared on Ms. Manning? I looked for her online, and it’s like she doesn’t exist. Not in any social media, not even an email account. What are the odds? Turns out, she does exist. Just not as Barbra Manning.”

Emma paused for effect before clicking on a link that opened on a porno website. Mary Margaret could be as red as Ruby’s hair locks and Regina was appalled.

“Ms. Swan, that is highly inappropriate-”

Emma coolly scrolled down the page until she found the video she was looking for and clicked on it. She paused in the first three seconds.

“I present you Barbra Manning, or Melody Bomb, as she is known around there.”

Emma was quite pleased with herself at the looks on the women face. Even Ruby was now subtly watching.

“She is an American citizen but used to shoot several adult movies in Peru. This was her last one, and has been uploaded just weeks before, but obviously was produced about two months ago, by the time Mr. Preston and her were supposedly already ‘dating’,” Emma air-quoted. “So I checked with the airlines that have flights from Peru, and what was my surprise,” She said sarcastically, “when I figured out that she had just landed in the States last month. Ms. Bomb and Mr. Preston couldn’t possibly have met each other in a sunny day at Central Park four months ago, as claimed by them.”

Mary Margaret was gaping at her, and Regina was so pale she thought if the woman would take offence if Emma offered her a chocolate.

“Anyway, in this site there is a way you can contact the girls. I… huh… did some digging, and found out that Mr. Preston contacted her three months ago,” She finished, letting the conclusion hanging in the air.

“Did you hack their system?” Regina exclaimed, pointing accusingly at the computer.

“That is what you choose to focus on? Your client hired a prostitute to fake his alibi!” Mary Margaret squealed in a high-pitched voice.

“We don’t know that yet!”

“We don’t- Regina!”

“Mary Margaret, a word.” The woman said suddenly through gritted teeth. And then she breezed away, but not before throwing Emma a death glare.

“Good job,” Mary Margaret said before quickly following her partner.

* * *

 

**~SQ~**

Regina stomped her way to her office, trying to calm her nerves as she went.

That woman started the day staining one of her favorite shirts, and now she was pretty much letting her case slide through the sink. And interrupting her! Looking at her like she could ever truly defy her!

She sat on her big president chair and thankfully didn’t have to wait long before Mary Margaret walked in, carefully closing the door behind her. She scoffed to herself. Always the princess, Mary Margaret.

“About Ms. Swan…  She can’t possibly be the profile of employees we want in our firm.”

Mary Margaret looked at her disbelievingly.  

“Are you serious? Were you not in the same room as I was just a minute ago? She is great. And that is the profile of employees we want.”

“Even so, why was I not involved in her hiring?”

“Because you said, and I quote, that you can’t lose your precious time with wannabes that tell you sappy stories about how law fulfill their lives, or with pretentious fools that can’t take their noses out of their behinds!”

Regina scowled.

“What is wrong? You hate all of the recruiting process. All you ever wanted was to see the curriculum of the chosen one and be done with it. And just so you forgot, you validated Emma’s!”

“But her attitude!” Regina insisted.

“It’s perfectly fine. You just didn’t like she found out new grounds on your case.”

“It changes nothing!” She said forcefully, narrowing her eyes.

“It changes everything!” Mary Margaret retorted. “You were preparing his defense assuming he was truly innocent!”

“I am very much aware of how I prepared my defense, thank you.”

“So you see the flaws in it, right?”

“There is no flaw,” Regina drawled. “The defense is perfect. The jury is in our hands, and the prosecution is running after his own tail.”

“Your defense would be flawless if he were innocent,” The woman pointed out. “As for the prosecution… I spoke to David yesterday and he seemed somewhat smug about this case. I didn’t understand then but I sure understand now.”

“David Nolan again,” Regina rolled her eyes. “Did I terribly miss the target when I asked if Ms. Swan worked for the prosecution?”

“Don’t start on this again…” Mary Margaret started, “Don’t try to turn this back on me.”

“What do you expect me to say? He is guilty, what then? There is a reason I am the Head of Criminal, Mary Margaret. You must live in a fairytale world where we never stand by guilty clients.”

“I am not the fool you paint me for, Regina. Though I always hope for innocent clients, I know very well the kind of people we welcome in our firm. I was just a child, and so were you, when our parents joined to found it. And even a criminal deserves a fair defense.”

“As attorneys we must fight for their best interests,” Regina said, ignoring the sentimental part of the speech. Really, she could as well be one of those idiots who told sappy stories about how law changed their lives in interviews.

“And the best interest of a man guilty of first degree murder is to accept the settlement the persecution is offering for a sentence of second degree murder. Even less with good behavior.”

“The best is to be cleared of the charges.”

“You are playing a risking game, Regina. If a Junior Investigator found in three hours the alibi is fake, don’t you think it’s just as easy for someone else to find it? All they have to do is look at the case through a different angle. And you know as much as I do they are thirsty for Mr. Preston’s blood.”

“We have just one more day to go. If I am playing a risking game, odds are that I am going to win.”

“Well, I obviously cannot say how you should deal with your jeopardized case,” Mary Margaret sighed and stood up. “But I am telling you that your client killed an innocent woman who did nothing but breaking up with him, and now her two kids are going to the foster system because she has no family left to mourn her,” She completed by the door and then left Regina to her thoughts.

Regina closed her hands in fists and contained herself from grabbing the vase of flowers standing on her desk and smashing it against the nearest wall.

She hated when Mary Margaret managed to push her buttons like that. She hated it. The foster system card? Such a low blow. But again, she shouldn’t be surprised. It was Mary Margaret.

After several calming breaths, she called her client and the prosecutor Nolan, and by the end of the afternoon, the settlement was signed.

Later, Nolan called her to tell that, if she had waited one more hour, she would have kissed the settlement goodbye, because they were now prosecuting Ms. Manning for perjury.

Her first thought was she would freeze hell down before she told any of this to Emma Swan.

 


	2. What investigators do

"Hey, baby, wake up," Regina whispered softly, running her fingers through his hair.

Henry yawned, opened his eyes just a little then shut them again. Regina smiled.

"Wake up, baby," She tried once more.

"I'm not a baby," He whined, as he always did, and Regina's smile got bigger, as it always did.

"Ok, but you still have to wake up or we're going to be late."

"Can we be late? Just today?" He asked, rubbing his eyes and moving a little, as to make room for her to climb in bed with him. It was tempting, just hold him in her arms and rest a little more.

"No, we cannot, darling," Regina replied nonetheless, kissing his forehead. "I'll prepare your bath, will you come?"

"Ok…"

"Ok."

She got up and walked to the bathroom, opening the bathtub taps. Henry was there in a moment. That morning routine was easy, familiar to both of them. Shower, dress, breakfast, drive to school. Once Henry was out of bed, the day instantly started, and he was eager to talk to her, to be with her, to have her attention as much as he could. And vice-versa.

When Regina first thought about adopting, she was scared. Not because she thought she couldn't be a mother, that she couldn't handle it, or that she would ever regret. No. She was scared because she wasn't sure about her reasons. How good of a mother could she ever be if her reason to have a child was to mollify her own loneliness? How good could she ever be if she was doing it only because  _she_  needed someone so bad?

Perhaps Regina would never had acted on the idea if it wasn't for Katherine.

" _What if there is some kid out there feeling alone and needing someone to hold their hand, and you'll never find each other because you keep questioning your reasons?"_

And then, oh, then Henry came along.

"Mommy," He called her from the back seat as they were on their way to Henry's school, stopped at a red light. Regina paused what she was doing - putting on lipstick with the help of the review mirror - and looked over her shoulder to him.

"Hi."

"Why you put lipstick?" He eyed her purple-ish lips.

"Well, I think it makes me look pretty."

"Hmm," Henry adjusted himself in his chair when the car moved again. "Why boys can't wear lipstick?"

"Ahm, I'd say boys don't  _usually_  wear lipstick," Regina said, looking at him through the mirror. "But they absolutely can, if they want to."

"Oh," Henry seemed to give this some thought.

Regina bit on her lip, wondering what she would do if he said he wanted to try on some. What kind of mother she would be if she let him? What kind of mother she would be if she didn't? The truth was, boy or girl, he was way too young for it.

She didn't need to worry, though, because Henry reached an obvious conclusion.

"Well, I don't need lipstick, cause I'm already so pretty."

Regina laughed, relieved, and he smiled too, pleased with himself for saying something funny.

"Yes, that's true. You're  _so_  pretty."

She winked at him through the mirror. They were near the school now.

"Look, Ella will come pick you up after school, as always, ok?"

"Ok. Will you be home to eat with me?" He asked in a small voice.

"I'll do my best to be home to dinner, alright?"

He only nodded, looking through the window. Henry knew by now that doing her best wasn't always enough. Regina sighed softly, wishing the mornings were longer and afternoons shorter.

**~SQ~**

* * *

"Morning, Emma. Sidney wants to see you," Ruby raised her eyes to greet her before focusing back on the things she was shoving inside her purse.

"Morning. And of course he does," Emma rolled her eyes.

"And he says it's urgent."

"Of coooourse it is," She contained a sigh. Ever since she uninvitedly worked on Regina's case, all she ever got to work on was boring jobs and cases.

Seriously, she was asked to find phone numbers, addresses, and overall basic information that took her all of five minutes to get. And let's not forget all the filing demand of old cases that were suddenly so pressing. So she had a lot of old forms and scanning going on for her.

And yes, the cheating husbands. Since day two she had to spend hours of her day looking into nanny cams recordings to try catching husbands red handed. And when she reasoned with Phillip that they wouldn't freaking fuck anyone at home when their kids were there, he just scratched the back of his head uncomfortably and asked her to keep looking. It has been two weeks now.

"Hey, where are you off to?" Emma asked when Ruby got her coat.

"Flirt my way into a suspect's house," The woman gave Emma a big Cheshire cat smile. "Best case scenario, there won't be anyone there so I'll break in!" Ruby added excitedly, like she had just stolen candy from a kid and it was delicious.

"Oh man, this sounds like Christmas," Emma was just so jealous. What she wouldn't do to finally get to the field right now.

Sure, when she was a bounty hunter the streets were her office. But then she had to chase the scum in seven inches heels, and the payment was shitty; and so was her dignity after some things she had to do to get the job done. But now she would be able to combine everything she liked and was good at without feeling like her self-respect was on sale. Or at least she  _could_ , if they fucking let her do the job she was hired to do.

"Sorry, maybe you can go with me in the next case?" Ruby smiled apologetically at her.

Emma shot her a pointed glare, and Ruby patted her on the back.

"The struggle is real."

A strange sound between a chuckle and a snort left Emma's mouth, and she got up to see what Sidney wanted this time.

"Emma! How are you?" Mary Margaret intercepted her in the hallways.

"Hey, great! I'm on my way to Mr. Glass's office," She smiled to the woman.

"He's been requesting you quite a lot lately," The woman frowned.

"Yeah…"

"Is everything ok? Do you have any question thus far?"

She wanted to say, 'How could I have questions if I'm doing jobs a ten year old could?', but settled with: "No, everything's fine. Thank you."

"Great! We have this new armed robbery case that just got in. Are you assisting Regina?"

"Actually, this one is with Ruby."

"Are you helping with Ms. Clark lawsuit?"

"The one that is suing her boss?"

"That's right."

"Nope, also with Ruby."

The frown in Mary Margaret's forehead deepened, and Emma wanted to scream. She wasn't being requested to no anything relevant, and now it would look as if she was lazy.

"I'm helping Phillip too. And some second year associates." With stupid,  _stupid_  stuff…

"I see… Well, I'll let you to it."

She nodded.

"And Emma," Mary Margaret called when Swan turned on her heels. "Please let me know if you need anything? My door is always open."

"Of course. Thanks," Emma forced a smile before continuing on her way.

"Mr. Glass. Can I help you?" She softly opened the door to his office.

"Hello, Ms. Swan," The man smiled, devoid of any warmth. "Yes, if you could please continue to file these," He pointed to a pile of paper in the corner of his desk. "I need the digital copies by the end of the day."

"Sure," She didn't even pretend to smile back, just grabbed everything and left the room.

When she sat again on her table and unlocked the computer, an email notification popped out, and it was from Regina. She quickly opened it, thinking she would finally be given an opportunity to do some real stuff.

Emma had a feeling - and usually when she had those, she was right – that everything going on was because of the woman. She was cutting Emma off from the interesting cases. She was asking for the associates to give Emma boring and unchallenging tasks. She was keeping Emma out of the loop. And maybe now Regina finally got bored of just testing her, punishing her or just proving a point.

Yeah, she didn't.

Still testing her, punishing or just proving a point.

**~SQ~**

* * *

Emma breathed in deeply before knocking on the door.

"Come in," The voice that echoed from inside the office sounded relaxed, but she could bet it wouldn't stay like this for long.

"Good afternoon," Swan greeted her as she entered the room. "I brought you the contacts information you asked for."

Regina arched an eyebrow, eyeing the case in Emma's hand with some suspicious. She had sent the email less than ten minutes ago, and probably thought it was too little time for the work to be done. Great. That was exactly what Emma was going for when she dropped all of the other meaningless tasks to attend immediately to the Evil Queen's request.

"Really? Could you find all of them?"

"Yeah, pretty much. And I added some information in an attached sheet, in case you find it any useful."

"I highly doubt it, since I usually ask for all the information I need. And when I  _don't_  ask, I don't expect my employees to snoop around my cases," Mills replied in a cold tone, not making a move to take the case Emma extended to her.

"Well, that is exactly what investigators do," The blonde spat before she could stop herself.

The gleam in Regina's eyes was easy enough to read.  _Oh, the nerve!_

Emma offered her a tight smile.

"If you need anything else..."

"Yes, Ms. Swan, I'm aware you are at my service."

The smile vanished. Emma dropped the case in Regina's desk, since it seemed like expect too much for the woman to just reach for it. Then her eyes laid on a picture frame.

A little boy was laughing on the top of a poney, his short dark hair messed up by the wind. He had sparkling hazel eyes and a smile that made Emma smile back.

"Lost anything, Ms. Swan?" Regina asked, glaring at her.

Emma looked up at her boss, the eyes making a quick travel; the dark irises, the serious mouth, the hand without a ring. Who would the boy be, if not a son? But how could he be her son? They looked nothing alike.

"No, if that's all," Emma said, shrugging. That was none of her business.

"That is all."

Swan turned on her feet and walked to the exit. She reached for the door knob and let out a muffled swear when it fell on her hand and out of where it belonged.

"You gotta be shitting me," She hissed under her breath, trying to put the it back at its place and open the door.

"What is it?"

Emma heard Regina standing up and sighed before turning to her and showing the loose door knob. Mills huffed.

"What is the thing about you and doors?" She asked, rolling her eyes and bypassing her desk to approach.

Emma didn't respond. She might be strong - or  _savage_  - but obviously she couldn't break a metal door knob and Mills knew it very well.

"Give me that," She ordered and Emma mused for a moment the idea of waiting for her to extend a hand to take it instead of freely giving it. But then she decided to be the better person and handed it.

"It's broken," Emma warned, what didn't stop Regina from trying to put the door knob back. "Really, it's not going to fit back."

Regina didn't pay attention. Emma sighed before walking back to the table and reaching for the phone.

"Hey, Belle, can you do me a favor?" She said when the receptionist picked up at the other side. Only then Mills glared at her over the shoulder. "The door to Ms. Mill's office is broken and we kinda need someone to open from the outside."

_"Damn, are you two locked up in there? Alone?"_

"Yeah, pretty much. Could you come to rescue?"

_"Sure. Just... don't accept any apples until I get there."_

Emma chuckled, then contained herself under Regina's stare.

"Right, just hurry, then," She murmured before hanging up. "Belle is coming, no need to try to yank the door open."

" _Ms. Swan…_ " Regina managed to pronounce the name like it was a curse. Emma didn't mind.

"Cute kid, by the way," She went on, indicating the picture frame on the table. "Great smile."

Regina narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything else, the door was open. Damn, Belle must had run. Emma made a mental note to thank her later.

**~SQ~**

* * *

"So what," Mulan Hua said, looking at Emma through narrowed eyes. Or maybe they weren't narrowed. Well, they kind of always were narrowed, and it didn't help that Mulan wore that serious expression all the time. "You're telling me you don't like your new job?"

"Of course I like my new job," The blonde retorted. "I just don't like my new boss."

"It's just one of them," Mulan reminded her, pushing open the door to The Rabbit Hole.

Hua was an officer at the NYPD and she and Emma had met while Swan worked as a bounty hunter. After handing the Police Department a few felons, she got invited for a few drinks. And it wasn't like she had much of a social life, so soon enough The Rabbit Hole and its habitual customers became part of Emma's nights.

That night, for example, she wanted to drink her frustration away.

"You'll find a way to deal with her," The asian woman said. Emma only shrugged in answer. She would find a way, sure, but she didn't know if it would involve keeping her job. But Mulan was the one who indicated her for that spot, and Swan wouldn't be complaining about it now.

Even more because Ruby was waving at them from a table at the corner. And around her were Phillip and Mary Margaret. Emma frowned for a second, wondering what the hell they were doing there. But when she approached and Mary Margaret smiled at her, Emma remembered she was nothing like Regina Mills. Nothing at all.

"Hey, guys!"

"Hey, good night," Emma said nodding at them.

"Emma, have you met ADA Nolan?" Ruby indicated the handsome man with dark blonde hair that was sitting beside her boss.

"Also known as David," He emended, standing up to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You too."

Mulan was acquainted with all of them by now, of course. And by the amount of beer they kept coming to the table, Emma had the feeling they would all be very intimate by the end of the night.

"Awful case," David Nolan was saying, shaking his head.

"First we thought it was a hit-and-run, which is pretty usual, but then it happened again the next day. And the next day," Mulan went on, leaning back on the chair. "Same car, same driver. It took us two days to find the son of a bitch, and by then he had killed four people and injured eight more."

"That's horrible!" Mary Margaret gasped, her eyes full of disgust.

"Well, he was just sentenced today with 25 to life, so…"

"The streets are safe again?" Phillip vented, ironically.

"Yeah, never," Mulan mumbled to herself.

"Let's drink, people," Ruby said, raising her mug.

"Here's to the people that spend everyday trying to make justice in our oh-so-random world," Mary Margaret said in a soft voice and Emma's eyebrow arched just slightly when she saw the look Blanchard directed to the ADA. He wore a pretty large ring on his left hand, but returned her look nevertheless.

"Well, I'll drink to that," Swan nodded, knocking her mug against theirs and then all of them took a big sip.

"Hey, look who's here," Ruby smiled as a redhead with pale blue eyes approached the table.

"Aurora," Mulan and Phillip greeted at the same time. Emma's eyebrow went up again and she smiled as the officer and the lawyer hurried to make room for the new guest.

"Your lucky night, Emma," Ruby told her, smiling. "You'll get to know all of the New York Law Enforcement. Say hi to ADA Briarose."

"Man, what did I get myself into?" She murmured, chuckling, as the new girl offered her a hand.

"Oh, don't worry, we're probably the worst gang in town," Aurora said with a wink.

"You say that because you haven't met Emma on her wild days," Mulan teased, smiling at the redhead.

_Smiling? Mulan?_

"Wild days, uh?" Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow.

"The past in the past," Emma declared solemnly, only to get Ruby singing " _LET IT GO, LET IT GO, CAN'T HOLD IT BACK ANYMORE…_ " in her ear.

"Are you drunk already, Lucas?" David asked, laughing. "Cause I was just going to get the next round."

"Please do," The brunette said, smiling at him. "I have no problem getting drunker. Just don't tell my boss."

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes before saying "I'll help you," and getting up to follow Nolan to the bar.

"So, where's Belle?"

"She didn't want to come," Aurora told Ruby with a meaningful look.

"Belle, like, our Belle?" Emma asked.

"Oh, wait, are you sharing now?" Phillip teased eyeing them in a dirty way.

"Shut up, Prince," Ruby snapped.

"No way!" Emma chuckled, staring at Ruby. "You and Belle?"

Lucas shrugged.

"We have been on and off for almost an year now. You know, I'll probably marry her someday and we'll choose a donor together, have a romantic insemination and fill up a house with twins. Live a lesbian fairy tale of sorts. As soon as I find out how to be monogamous."

Aurora rolled her eyes.

"Don't listen to her, most of the year it was Ruby on and Belle off."

Emma laughed when her partner investigator grimaced. Phillip was leaning against his chair, all relaxed, and even Mulan seemed pretty amused.

"You guys are so lame, I don't know why I hang out with you," Ruby whined.

"Because you can't find anyone else remotely interesting in this place?" Emma suggested.

Ruby scanned the room for a long moment, then smiled mischievously.

"Wanna bet?"

**~SQ~**

* * *

Emma would never ever partake in bets with Ruby again. Especially those related to having to take shots afterwards.

She was perfectly fine before, but she had to accept bet after bet (because she couldn't possibly lose  _all_  of them, right?) with Ruby. How the hell did the woman know what kind of underwear the waitress worn (and then ask her for validation)? Or how could she have imagined that Ruby would indeed climb up the balcony to dance? And of course, stealing a tie from a random guy she made out with was out of the table for Emma, but clearly not for Ruby.

And then she was late, oh so late the next day because of this awful hangover. And Ruby, who obviously was also feeling the effects of the night before, was grumpy for most of the morning, mumbling to herself. Needless to say, Emma wasn't able to focus so much up until she had at least three cups of coffee.

Sidney had insisted he needed his cases organized in a timeline and categorized by colors on that very day. Because so help god if it was finished by tomorrow (or in the next ten years, for that matter). It was clearly a primal task and totally aligned to her payment for hour.

_Yeah, right._

So she had to stay until almost nine pm. Well, it was her decision to drink her weight in booze the night before, so she couldn't complain. Much.

The lights were almost all off, though she could see one or two on inside the offices of first year associates who wanted to impress.

When she got to the elevator and the door was almost closing, she raised a hand into the narrow space to hold the car. And when the door opened, Emma stared straight into black eyes. She froze for a moment, Regina looking at her like a hawk.

"If you're going to get in, Ms. Swan, I suggest you do it soon or the door will close again."

And in fact, there was a hard noise that indicated just that. She quickly got in, standing awkwardly by the woman's side.

"Thanks," She murmured. She didn't quite know what she was thanking for, though. It just sounded like the polite thing to say.

Emma was met with silence, then fished her phone from her purse and pretended to be busy as she glanced at the glowing numbers that showed the floors.

Regina was rigid as she felt the woman fidget by her side. She raised her eyebrow to no one, her lips curling into a smirk. It was always fun seeing how she could throw people off balance. But with Ms. Swan, she had a feeling that she should relish those moments, because they would not happen as often as she wanted. So she decided to seize it and push some more.

"How are you enjoying your first weeks with us, Ms. Swan?"

Emma raised her eyes from the phone and looked at Regina.

"It's a great place to work."

"Of course. Very busy days?"

"Yeah, the printer and I are quite acquainted."

Regina was actually amused, because she could see the regret painting the woman's features almost instantaneously. She considered pretending she didn't know what Emma was talking about, but that wasn't just as entertaining.

"Someone has to do that job, Ms. Swan."

"Yeah, like an intern," Emma whispered. Regina wasn't sure it was meant for her to hear, but she did anyway. A predatory smile stretched across her face.

"Are you suggesting I should replace you by an intern?" It was more of a challenge than a question.

Emma gazed at her and Regina could practically  _smell_ the gears turning and whirling inside the woman's head.

"Maybe you should."

Regina felt her jaw drop.

"I mean," Emma added, probably and rightfully foreseeing a firing in her near future. "I can do more than intern job. But if what I am currently assigned to do is all you hired me for, it's not very well spent resources."

Suddenly, it was like all of the blood in her body raised to her head, amusement long gone.

"Are you implying I don't know how to manage  _my_  firm?"

"I am not implying anything," Emma shrugged. She had the audacity to  _shrug_! "I'm just saying I am very good at my job."

If her glare could kill, Emma would be dropped dead by now. But instead of recoiling under the pressure of her stare like everyone else did, Emma raised her chin.

"I am afraid we're holding the elevator too long, and this is a high building. Are you coming?"

Regina blinked at the open door - she hadn't noticed they had reached the underground - and scowled at the woman before stepping out, making a beeline towards her car without looking back.

"Have a good night!" Regina heard Swan's voice echo behind her and solemnly ignored it as she got into her car.

She frowned when she tried to start the car and it didn't work. So she tried again. And again. And again.

Nothing.

Regina leaned her head so her forehead was pressing against the steering wheel. All she wanted was to get home to kiss her son goodnight. Because of the late hour she obviously wouldn't have dinner with him.

Unfortunately she had to stay in late because of one new case that would turn, with a little bit of luck and a lot of work, into a very lucrative joint action. But now, sitting on her car that refused to do its  _only_ job, Regina started to wonder if it was worth all the lonely dinners she would have until it was over.

A knock on her window made her jump slightly and sit straight.

"Need some help?"

Regina sighed as she watched sparkling green eyes. She opened the door as Emma took a step back.

"It won't start," She said, refusing to look at the woman.

"Can I?" Emma gestured to the key, still stuck in the car.

Regina rolled her eyes, tempted to just snap at the infuriating woman. Before she made her mind, though, the blonde was on her seat. She tried to start the car a couple times, but obviously nothing happened.

"I told you!"

"I just wanted to hear it," Emma nodded to herself.

"Oh! And what fantastic tales did the engine tell you?" Regina just couldn't help the venom that left with her words. She was far too tired and now very irritated to need the woman at all.

Emma gazed at her and arched one eyebrow.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Was the nonchalant answer.

Regina actually snarled at the woman.

"Leave it, Ms. Swan. I'll get a cab."

But Emma was already opening the hood of the car and inspecting inside.

"Yep. Your battery is dead. Hold on for a moment, I have jumper cables."

And before Regina could protest and  _insist_ she would take a cab, the woman was entering an almost criminal yellow  _death trap_.

Emma drove and maneuvered her so-called car so it was in front of hers.

The blonde appeared by her side with the cables, doing a quick job at connecting it at both cars.

"Ms. Swan, I am not sure your… vehicle," Regina looked at the yellow thing like it was personally offending her. Well, how could anyone drive that and be alive to tell the story? "Can handle it."

"Hey! It's a great car!" Emma protested. "And the battery is just fine." She shot a pointed look at Regina's Mercedes.

The woman huffed as the woman started the thing. The roaring of the engine was refreshing.

"There, there. Let's just wait five minutes and I think you will be fine to go. Just make sure to look into it."

Regina was about to call her out and tell her she didn't need Emma to tell how to take care of her Mercedes when the woman stepped out of the thing, displaying a big stain of grease on her very  _white_ shirt. Before she knew it, Regina was smirking.

Emma followed her stare and her eyes popped out when she noticed the stain. But then she was throwing Regina a knowing look and smiling.

Yes, Regina thought, they were  _almost_ even now.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, dear muggles!  
> As this second chapter began to show, I intend to put some more characters into the story. I mean, OUAT has a lot of great - and freaking gorgeous - characters, and I just can't get tired of shipping them.  
> As for the SwanQueen part of it, it'll be mostly a slow burn, but as I get impacient easily, it might turn into a fast burn or sudden burn or whatever. Stay around to check on it!


	3. Am I interrupting something?

"I think he has another woman," Katherine whispered, repeatedly spinning the ring on her finger.

"I highly doubt it," Regina replied, crossing her legs.

"I know you never gave David much credit," Katherine eyed Regina seriously. "But not even you can deny he is a handsome man. And charismatic. He wouldn't have any problem getting a mistress."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Ok, why do you think that?"

"He keeps coming home later every night. He says he's at work or drinking with his colleagues, but I don't know... He never invites me to go."

"He's doing you a favor. You wouldn't want to mingle with them. They are boring and they attend this most horrific pub..."

"See? Even you know where and with who he might be, and I don't know anything!"

"Did you ask?" Regina frowned.

"Well... no. I didn't want him to think I was suspicious or jealous or anything."

"Great, then you can't really complain, now can you?"

"It's not just that!" The blonde woman looked over her shoulder to make sure they were alone in the room. "He haven't been... interested in me. You know... sexually."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"He denies you?"

"Not exactly. He just doesn't seem into me. When we're... doing it... his mind seems to be far away."

"And you think he is thinking of this other woman?"

"Yes."

"And does that kill your mood?"

"Of course it does!"

"And you'd say when that happens you become less interested in what is going on in that moment?"

"Yes, Regina, I would say that. Why do I have the feeling I'm in court?"

"Because, dear, all you're pointing out are circumstantial accusations. David has a stressful job, it's not unusual that he stays late and goes out for a drink or two afterwards. You know you married below you, he knows you married below you, I don't find it this strange that he's too embarrassed of the people and the places of his routine to take you with him."

"It doesn't sound like him..."

"And you don't sound like yourself. Where's my confident best friend? I'd like her back, please."

"Your best friend is confident she's being cheated on," Katherine said. "You can say he doesn't seem interested in me because he senses I'm off too, but I don't think that's it."

"Maybe he is gay," Regina vented. Kat huffed.

"Oh, he is not."

"How would you know?"

"We are not in our best moment, but I remember that first month in college..."

"Oh, God. Don't remind _me_ of that," Regina grimaced and Kat laughed.

"Like you were doing anything much different by that time," She teased, but then her face blushed as Regina's smile faded away. "Anyway, what I mean is... He is not gay. He is just... over me. That could only mean he has another."

"That's hardly conclusive, Kat," Regina replied, trying not to let any emotion show on her voice. But something in her throat felt raw. "The thing is... although it pains me to say so, Nolan is too much of a _good guy_ to cheat on you."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do." She looked into Katherine's eyes intently until her friend let the air out and leaned against the couch.

"You're probably right. I'm being paranoid. It's just... things are bad, Regina. I don't know if I can fix them."

"Maybe it's not your job to do so. What has David done for this marriage?"

Katherine averted her eyes. "Nothing. I don't think he wants this anymore."

"Then he is more of a moron than I guessed."

"Don't say that," Kat scolded slightly.

"I'll say whatever I want, you're not the boss of me," Regina spat back, but playfully enough to make her friend smile. "I'm serious. You're gorgeous, you're smart, you're a great wife. If he doesn't see how much he already has..."

"Oh, Regina."

"What?"

"Sometimes you talk like..." Kat trailed off and Regina raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?"

"Never mind, I'm just upset."

"Tell me."

Katherine sighed. "You talk like you have forgotten what it is like to love someone. Because we are never looking for the qualities, for a resumée. I could be perfect - but God knows I'm not - and that could still not be enough. We don't love someone for who he is, but rather for how he makes us feel."

"Well, that's just plain stupid."

"Exactly. It is. It's love, and love is stupid. I might be a great woman, but if I were a great wife, I'd make him happy," Katherine swallowed the lump in her throat. "I hope you haven't forgot how that feels like too."

Regina opened her mouth, but found out she didn't know what to answer. And that raw feeling was in her throat again, like it would hurt to make even the smallest sound come out. Had she forgotten? Time passed so fast, and it had been so long. So long since she didn't reduce each and every new person in her life to a resumée, to qualities and flaws. So long since she stopped to wonder about how anyone made her _feel_.

"Mommy!" Henry cried out, entering the living room like a small hurricane. "It's time!"

"Hey, what we talked about interrupting when mom is talking to a friend?" She asked softly. Henry looked down.

"Ec-cusmy, mommy," He tried again, sheepishly. Regina smiled.

"Yes, Henry?"

"It's time! Movie time!" He exclaimed, all excited again.

"It's not, sweetheart. I said we would leave at 5, it's still four-thirty."

"It's ok," Katherine said, extending her arms to drag the little boy to her embrace. "We can go."

"Yay! I love you!" Henry shouted, making Katherine and Regina giggle.

"Oh, yeah? And why is that?"

"Cause I'm so happy! I'm gonna get my shoes!" He said before he vanished to his room again.

Katherine gave Regina an amused glance. "See? I told you."

Regina couldn't help but laugh.

**~SQ~**

* * *

 

Regina stopped at the door-frame and surveilled the room. Mary Margaret was talking to Sidney in a corner; Phillip and Robin chatted near the coffee table. Belle was on her place already, the laptop opened in front of her.

"Are we all here?" Regina asked loud enough to be heard above the other voices, while she entered the room and occupied her chair in one of the large table's end.

Mary Margaret looked around. "Ruby isn't."

"Ruby is out," A voice came from the door. Regina looked up to meet the woman at the threshold. Ms. Swan cleaned her throat. "I mean, she is on field today and she asked me to replace her. If that's ok."

"Of course it's ok," Mary Margaret smiled encouragingly at the blonde woman from the other end of the table and Regina held out a sigh. "Come on in. Ruby usually sits right here at my left."

Emma nodded and marched to the available chair. Belle hurried up to close the door at one glance from Regina, and everyone else took their places as well.

"Shall we begin, then?"

"Yes," Sidney, whose usual place was at Regina's left, started. "As you know, I'm working mostly on the Wilson case for almost a month now and finally..."

It was a weekly meeting and they had established a routine by now; Glass would start it, then it would follow clockwise and Regina would end it. They overall talked about current cases, informing each other of any eventual turn, or summoning up help for any big event.

Regina found it a huge pain in the ass, but she and Mary Margaret agreed it was a healthy habit for the firm to have. Of course, they didn't take the same reasons in consideration. Blanchard was all for socializing and keeping the colleagues together, maintaining the integrity of the team. Regina found those meetings a rather efficient and quick way to keep an eye on everyone's job.

"I should be in court all day tomorrow, but I'll be checking my emails," Mary Margaret explained. "Don't mind telling me if the matter escalates, Blue," She went on.

Regina wanted to yawn. If she made ten cents for each time Blanchard offered help to a less competent co-worker, Regina would be rich by now - well, richer.

"Thank you, Mary Margaret," The woman nodded.

"That's all for me."

"Well, I guess you should go, Phillip. Ms. Swan is just filling a blank," Regina said when it came to what would be Ruby's turn.

"Actually," Emma said, shuffling through some papers. "There are a few things I'm supposed to let you guys know."

"Oh, wouldn't that be kind of you," Regina deadpanned and Sidney chuckled lowly.

Blanchard sent them both a reprimand look. "Go ahead, Emma."

"Ahm, so..." She resumed shuffling, her green eyes running through page after page. "The Jensey case Ruby is working on is developing well. She says his alibi checks until now, but she will be talking to Mr. Jensey's mother today," Emma announced, glancing at Regina for an instant.

"Yes, Ms. Swan, I was informed of that earlier, when Ms. Lucas called me," Regina's tone was monotonous.

"Right. Also, the guy at the I.T department..."

"You can be more specific," Mary Margaret told her sweetly.

"Sure. Sorry," Emma checked a sheet of paper. "Peter Delgado. Is he the current I.T department head?"

"Isn't that Tony Green?" Phillip raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we'd think that cause Tony's always handling everything. But no, actually Tony is Mr. Delgado's assistant."

"Then why is Tony the one that shows up when we need the I.T team?"

"Because Mr. Delgado is always on a sick leave."

"Should I get him a card?" Regina was getting impatient.

"You should get him fired," Emma spat back with no hesitation.

It was like for a second the whole table held their breath. No one ever told Regina what to do. Ever.

"Pardon me?" Her hands closed in fists over the table. "Did I hear correctly, Ms. Swan? Are you really advising me on a employee matter? Are you insinuating we should release a sick man because he hasn't been able to come to work? Don't you know that's not just unethical but illegal?"

"That's the thing, though," Swan said, at ease. It seemed like Regina's rage was Emma's home base. "He is not sick. Tony hinted me on that one. I did some digging. Turns out his girlfriend is a doctor; she's actually _his_ doctor, so... Yeah, he's been making a fool out of us for awhile and a slave out of poor Tony, who does all the work for a much smaller payment."

“That says nothing. She could be his girlfriend and doctor. Are you accusing a colleague without further proof?” Regina felt something akin to anger and embarrassment at the same time.

“She is a gynecologist,” Emma blurted.  

Everyone stayed quiet for a moment, then Phillip broke the silence by chuckling.

"Damn, Swan, you were hired to keep us honest, wasn't you?"

Emma smiled at him.

“Human Resources should have her information on her prescript.”  

"I'll check on that with Archie," Mary Margaret assured, pressing Emma's arm quickly. “And why it hadn't been noticed before,” She added quietly.

Regina didn't know why the gesture bothered her so much. Why did Mary Margaret always act like touching people was so natural? She tried to imagine herself mindless brushing Emma's skin and the thought made an uneasy feeling crawl up her stomach.

"So, Ms. Swan, that's all? Is there any other personal detail of an employee's life you want to share with the team?"

"Please don't mention that thing on my last vacation," Phillip half-whispered, in a silly pleading voice.

Emma gave him a crooked smile, then shook her head. "I don't do that, you know," She said, almost to herself. "I was hired to do a job, and I try to dedicate myself to the firm's best interest, but I don't go through people's life just for the sake of it. Nor for the sake of my curiosity. Never," Those green eyes rounded the table, then she shrugged. "Just thought you should know."

"We're all going to sleep sounder now," Phillip winked, Mary Margaret smiled approvingly, and Regina demanded the meeting to go forward.

Half an hour later, it was her turn. She briefed them on her current cases, rejected one or two pieces of useless advice, then leaned in her chair.

"As most of you know, we are approaching the firm's 30th anniversary." A few claps were heard, then she proceeded. "Belle is already taking care of finding a suitable party planner, and we should have a better idea of what to expect in the next weeks."

"Thirty years," Glass murmured. "It should be quite a party."

"Oh, it will be," Mary Margaret stated, a dreamy gleam in her eyes. "Save the date, guys. I'm sensing that won't be a night you'll want to miss."

**~SQ~**

* * *

 

Emma poured some more coffee into her mug and tried to look like she couldn't listen to the conversation going on a feet away. Not that Phillip seemed worried about someone else overhearing, because he sure wasn't worried about being quiet.

"She said she already had plans," He complained while Ruby sipped her own mug and looked at him. "I mean, I invite her to the best Brazilian restaurant in town, and she already has plans? What does that mean?"

"That she has plans?" Ruby suggested, frowning. "Don't take it personally, Phil. Just ask her out again next week."

"Next week? You know how hard it is to get a table at that place? I made the reservation two weeks ago!"

"Wait a minute," Ruby held out a finger, giggling. "You made the reservation _before_ you got the date?"

"Well, I..."

"You cocky son of a bitch!" Ruby punched him in the shoulder, and Emma couldn't help but laugh, what made the other two look at her.

"Shut up. How could I know she would have plans?"

"Aurora is beautiful, and young, and single. How could you not know?"

"Aurora?" Emma asked, arching an eyebrow. "The ADA?"

"Yes, the ADA," Phillip spat, putting his mug down a little too forcefully. "With whom I apparently have to make a date reservation two weeks previously, too."

Emma just sipped her coffee, but didn't say anything. She happened to know Aurora's plans for the night, since she had just asked Mulan if she wanted to go grab a bite after work, and her friend excitedly told her she would have dinner with someone else. Well, ok, by 'excitedly' Emma meant she had put a smiling face at the end of the text - what was odd enough for the asian woman. And as she didn't invite Emma to come along, the blonde deduced it was a date. Of course she immediately had her suspicious, but now she was just plain sure Mulan was taking Aurora out. And she doubted very much it would be to any fancy place. And she doubted even more that Aurora would care for that.

"Next time, just make an invitation, wait for the answer, and go from there, ok?" Lucas rolled her eyes at him.

"I was trying to _impress_ her, ok?" He actually managed to blush, and Emma couldn't help but find him cute. "I wanted to be that kinda guy who takes the girl to a nice place, where they can have a nice conversation, and not just..."

"Take her to bed?"

"Well, I wouldn't put it like that, but..."

"I'm completely right?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, but, anyway... follow the instructions I gave you, Prince."

He served himself more coffee, calmer this time. Emma didn't really think it was a case to pick sides - at least not yet -, but if she had to, she wouldn't have much choice than to be on Team Mulan. But the truth was, looking at Phillip's face right now, and remembering that smiling emoticon at Mulan's text... She couldn't help wondering what was the thing about Aurora. Sure, she was pretty, and really nice. But then again, many women were. And Emma couldn't remember the last time someone cared enough to take her on a real date. Not that she was the date-type, anyway. Swan was aware she was much more of a bar-pick-up-type. At least, that was what a life-long experience had taught her.

"So, do you like Brazilian food?" Phillip asked Ruby, subdued.

"Not particularly," Lucas replied, rubbing her chin. Then she smiled. "But Belle loves it."

"Fair enough," Phillip shrugged. "I'll see if she'll go with me." Ruby punched him again, and he laughed. "Stop that, you are fucking brutal!"

"Don't mess with me, Prince," She warned him, narrowing her eyes.

"Alright, alright. It's nine o'clock. Under the name Prince, of course."

"Great," Ruby smiled brilliantly.

"How do you know _Belle_ doesn't have a date?" Emma asked teasingly.

"I _don't_ know. I'm just confident I'll be a better option than any she already has," Ruby winked before walking away from the coffee room.

"Man, I wish I had Ruby's game," Phillip sighed.

"Don't we all?" Emma said, watching the brunette disappear in the hallways.

**~SQ~**

* * *

 

“So after the meeting where I told them about the IT asshole, she called me to her office.”

“The Snow White boss or the Evil Queen boss?”

“The Evil Queen,” Emma nodded, taking a sip from her beer. “And will you quit calling them that? Geez.”

August smiled and shrugged, the glint in his eyes telling Emma the nicknames were far from being forgotten.

“And what did she want?”

“My head on a plate.”

“I hope you are speaking metaphorically, you know her reputation.” August eyes popped out in a cartoony-fashion, a smirk firmly planted on his lips.

Emma punched him in the shoulder.

“Asshole,” She smiled.

“So…” He started, “Are you fired or something?”

August said it casually, but the woman could sense he was worried, so she was fast to reassure him.

“No, no. She just said I should never, under any circumstances, talk of a matter like that in front of the other associates. And that I should have gone straight to her, instead.”

The man seemed to consider her words for a moment.

“I don’t think the Evil Queen is wrong, Ems. Sorry.”

The blonde sighed. “Maybe, but it’s not like she has this open door policy, right?”

“What about Snow?”

“Seriously, do you even know their names?” He gulped his beer, ignoring her question altogether. “Ok, so I could have gone to Mary Margaret, but I have to prove to Regina that I can do more than filing stuff.”

“So you had a strategy behind all the digging?” August smirked, amicably bumping his shoulder on hers.

“Do I look like I care if the IT guy is an asshole?” She deadpanned. Yeah, she was glad that this opportunity to prove herself had showed… but she kind of cared just a bit that the assistant was doing all the work and getting no recognition. She had already been in his position once before. And the look August gave her made clear that he knew that.

“Yeah, about that. This woman totally looks like those old hags that hold grudges forever.”

“Believe me, she is not an old hag,” Emma said forcefully before finishing her bottle and gesturing for the bartender to get her a new one.

“Is that so?” August raised an eyebrow, producing his phone out of thin air judging by the speed of the gesture. He typed quickly and, a moment later, he whistled. “Damn, Ems! She is fucking hot!”

Emma peaked at the phone to find a lot of pictures of Regina on the Google images.

“So you _do_ know her name.”

“I tried ‘Evil Queen’, but the results were not helpful, can you believe that?”

Emma pointedly stared at him until he chuckled.

“Serious though… She is also smart! Harvard graduated, masters in Columbia…”

The blonde stared at Regina’s LinkedIn picture. Did she hire a professional photograph or something?

“No shit, Sherlock… I would have guessed that being partner in a famous law firm was just a fluke.”

August chuckled.

“Let’s check out Snow now.”

“Drop it!” Emma complained, but August was already laughing.

“Oh my God! She looks like the nice neighbor that bakes you cookies when you move in.”

Emma actually smiled at that because that really screamed Mary Margaret all over.

“Not speaking from experience, are you?”

“You know I am not,” August smiled at her.

It was nice. After all those years of living in crappy foster houses, than in a fucking car together… It was nice that they were able to talk about that without having a meltdown.

“I am glad you’ve moved to New York,” She confessed. He had arrived the day before, but already the city felt different. After living with him during all of her teen years, and then some after that… Emma felt a little out of place when he wasn’t within a radius of at least 120 miles.

“Missed me, didn’t you?”

“Oh, shut up!” Not that she would ever inflate his already gigantic ego.

“I have good news,” He blurted.

“I knew at least one of us would have one of those,” She grinned.

“I am finally getting my book published. No more just short tales in flopped collaborative books for my résumé.”

“No kidding!” Emma dropped back the bottle of beer that was lifted halfway to her mouth. “Congratulations, man! Damn!” She got up, urging him to do the same.

He rolled his eyes, but got up anyway, being instantly embraced in a hug.

“We are here for like what? One hour? You could have told me before I wasted our first drinks complaining about work!”

“You needed to vent,” He shrugged.

“Drop the modest attitude! You are getting freaking published! I couldn’t be more proud,” She dramatically put her hand over her chest.

August laughed, forcing her back to her sit.

“Are you getting sentimental on me now, Swan?” He teased.

She chose to dismiss the outrageous suggestion, and asked about his book instead.

“Fairytales adapted to reality, right?”

“Yeah, apparently it’s ‘in’ right now,” he air quoted. “It was unique last year, but the publishers thought it was too out of the box.”

“Come one, I bet yours is still the most creative of all,” Emma said with confidence.  

“You would know if you have read the original,” August sing-songed. He didn’t seem upset, but his words made Emma’s stomach drop.

“I am sorry,” She started sheepishly. “I should have read it… You’ve always supported me and…”

“Hey,” He interrupted. “I get it, ok? You’ve been in a roller coaster for some time now, and then this new job… just don’t worry about it.”

“Things are settling in, and filing doesn’t take much time of my day once I am out of work. It’s no excuse, August…”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it. Wanna get even? Buy me a stronger drink,” He grinned.

Emma chuckled, but was still not comfortable with her own laid back behavior towards her friend. She still had that original somewhere, and she sure as hell would read it as soon as she could.   

“Two vodkas. Neat,” She said to the bartender and then beamed at August. “Ready to start the real celebration, Booth?”

“Hell yeah!”

**~SQ~**

* * *

 

Emma opened her eyes, a distant noise suddenly reverberating inside her head, making any attempt of sleeping not very effective. Her dizzied sleepy self had managed to dodge all the buzzing coming from her phone – the device now successfully buried somewhere between sheets and blankets.  But the doorbell was that much louder.

She blinked, looking around at the empty bed – of her apartment, thank fucking God – and frowned, looking up to finally discern the sound of water running, coming from behind the closed door of the bathroom. She now started to remember, in some deep corner of her hung over mind, that she had received a call when she was in the bar with August, a booty call that her friend didn’t mind her to answer.

The doorbell ringed again and Emma groaned.

She clumsily detangled herself from the sheets and got up, legs slightly wobbly and eyes blurred. Who, for fuck’s sake, would wake her up on a freaking Saturday morning? Well, if hell hadn’t frozen over, or a freaking hurricane alert that would potentially destroy all life in the city hadn’t been sent, she sure would give some piece of her mind to the inconsiderate person pressing her doorbell like their life depended on it. Or close the door in their face. Probably close the door in their face.

“I am going!” She shouted. “Geez…”

Emma opened the door with a grumpy, “What?”

And then she had to blink again, because the vision in front of her most certainly was a mirage. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the person standing in the hallway. No… it couldn’t be…

Emma followed Regina’s stare as the woman gave her a once over, dark eyes stopping in her chest and continuing its way down and down. She immediately looked at herself, her cheeks burning when she noticed she was wearing only a freaking white shirt – no bra because really, who slept wearing a bra, right?! – and very _red_ panties.

_Oh damn._

Emma snapped her eyes back, finding Regina gazing at her.

She closed her mouth, noticing her chin was still almost touching the floor.

“Emma? Is someone there?”

Emma looked over her shoulder to find her blonde female friend enveloped in a robe – her robe – with probably nothing beneath it and standing in the middle of the living room, leaning her head to see what Emma was doing standing in front of the door.

She just stared, not sure if she could form words that made sense in that moment. Emma slowly turned to find her boss gazing at her with an eyebrow raised.

“Miss Swan… Am I interrupting something?” Were the amused words that left plump red lips. Regina didn’t wait to hear her answer as she continued, “Ruby is out of town. Do you think you can handle some grown up job?”


	4. Objection

The silence could be lasting for hours now, though Emma was pretty sure just a few seconds had passed. She watched as Regina’s eyes roamed around her apartment without so much of subtlety.

It was weird having her there. Emma felt like she had just been sucked by a portal and landed on a parallel dimension. One where it was a common occurrence for your boss - who, mind you, dislikes you - to show up at your doorstep, seeing you in your panties, and become the object of brief suspicion from your friend with benefits. Granted, more benefits than friends. But still!

Emma wanted to curl into a ball as she replayed the last minutes in her mind. After she had introduced her boss to the blonde woman she had spent the night with, the girl had changed and left, murmuring a not so quiet “Well, this is awkward. Call me.” on her way out. Then Emma had put on some decent clothes – or additional jeans and bra.

So now… now they were sitting in the living room, and only a counter and two stools separated it from the kitchen. She berated herself for the dirty dishes lying in the sink. And was that a towel in the corner? Well, she was so more organized that that. Her apartment was small, but clean. Of course, not that much clean on the day her boss decided to pay her an unannounced visit.

“Ms. Swan,” Regina said finally, deeming her surroundings sufficiently assessed. “You asked for a chance to prove yourself, and I think this is it.”

Emma wanted to reply she didn’t _ask_ per se, but decided to let it slide. “How can I help you?” She said instead, still feeling pretty awkward about the whole deal. Should she offer Regina something to drink?

Regina’s lips compressed into a thin line. So she wasn’t that crazy about the _help_ part, heh…

Emma suppressed a smile. Right on that moment, the brunette also didn’t look like she was having a walk in the park, sitting too straight, jaw too tight. But Emma could bet Regina still looked more comfortable than her. And she was in her own home, for fuck’s sake! So yeah, she would take her victories where she could.

Something about pushing Regina’s buttons always seemed too tempting for her. At least, when she pushed Mills to the edge, she showed a little life. She was someone Emma could deal with.

“I have a client, Mr. Johnson, that is suing a pharmaceutical company for making him infertile,” Regina started. “He was just taking a medicine for chronic migraines, imagine that.”

Emma blinked. “That sucks.”

Regina arched an eyebrow. “Yes, it most definitely… sucks, as you so articulately put it.”  

“What then? It was really the medicine that caused the infertility?”

“We have strong evidences, yes. See, we are planning to strike them with a joint-action, as soon as we finish this case. Mr. Johnson's sue sets a precedent, can you understand that?”

Emma expected Regina to be condescending, but her tone was nothing if not professional. This was real. She adjusted herself on the couch.

“Yeah; if it is proved that the medicine led to infertility once, it’s presumable that it can as easily happen to others,” She nodded.  

“So it’s primal that we win this for Mr. Johnson; not only for his sake, of course, but also for the sake of a _very_ ,” Regina emphasized the word, “lucrative joint action.”

Emma found herself nodding again. “So this is a huge deal, right?”

“I wouldn’t be here otherwise,” Regina deadpanned.

“Yes, of course,” Slapping herself was in order at any time now.  

“We are very likely to win the case, but the defense attorney just added a doctor on their witness list. Mr. Johnson was just diagnosed with diabetes type 2,” Regina continued.

“Let me guess… it can cause infertility?” Emma said with an eye roll.

“Precisely,” Regina answered with an eye roll of herself.

“We could go after another victim of the medicine, right? They won’t all have diabetes. We’ll show what they have in common: the medicine and the infertility.”

“Yes, we could do that, but it wouldn’t prove Mr. Johnson’s diabetes didn’t cause his infertility, would it? It wouldn’t win us the case. Also, I don’t want to reduce our chances for the joint action.”

“I don’t understand,” Emma admitted it.

The brunette sighed. “We have eight people compromised with the joint action that is to follow. Or we had. Three of them seemed to give up suing out of the blue…”

“You think the pharmaceutical is buying them off?” Emma asked, following the train of thought.

“Yes, that is exactly what I think, and I don’t want to release any new names they may not have yet, and be giving them any more ammunition to bribery.”

“Right. Of course,” Emma nodded. “So your plan is to discredit their specialist or outgun him with one of your own.” It wasn’t a question, and Regina didn’t motion to reply. “I’m guessing that’s where I come in.”

“I need you to try to find something that can neutralize the diabetes factor in the case. We only have one last day in court...”

“So if you can throw some shade on that doctor, that’ll be the jury final impression, got it,” Emma nodded once more.

Regina’s dark eyes bored into green ones. “Do you think you can do that?”

A challenge. Emma smirked. She’d been waiting for this.

And she had to admit it was weird, sitting with Regina, having a civilized conversation without ironies, attacks, or subtle threats to Emma’s career and stuff. The parallel dimension was even more blatant in Emma’s mind. But… at the same time, it was easy. They both had methodical, logical minds when it came to work. Emma could literally finish Mill’s sentences, and her boss didn’t seem nagged by that.

They could communicate well.

“What’s the doctor name?”

“Mark Stewarts. And here is the file of the case,” Regina produced some papers from her purse, her eyes shining with a renewed fire.

“Let’s do this.”

By ‘Let’s do this’, Emma had meant she would read everything and draw a line of work. She didn’t mean for Regina to actually be there to ‘do this’. Not that she was doing much, actually. More like watching Emma like a hawk as she did everything.

Emma glanced at her from time to time, waiting for her to get the clue. It didn’t happen.

When Emma was almost finishing the file, Regina started to pace around her living room. The blonde lowered the papers and stared at the woman. She seemed really anxious. And worried. That was what prevented Emma from snapping at her for not trusting her with the work.

“Parents?” Regina asked when she found Emma’s eyes on her. Mills was in front of a wooden picture frame the blonde kept at one of the shelves near the door; it showed an old couple on a park bench.

“Might as well be,” Swan shrugged and Regina arched an eyebrow.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” The blonde made a dismissive gesture. “The picture came with the frame, I just put it out there because it was a gift.”

“You are a strange person, Swan,” Regina pointed out, resuming wandering by the small living room.

Emma smirked, almost forgetting about the embarrassment from earlier, and for the first time since Regina had knocked on her door, she properly faced the woman. She was dressed in casual clothes; still stylish, but not like her infamous power suits. Simple black button-up shirt and – was that jeans? But yeah, the heels were still there. She looked good in those clothes. Emma was starting to believe Regina could actually pull off any look.

She shook her head and turned back to the papers. But soon enough her eyes wandered back to her boss. Mills was now shuffling through some books on the lowest shelf. Emma blushed as she glanced at the _Fifty Shades of Grey_ cover; it had also been a gift, but she didn’t think Regina would believe it.  

“That’s it,” Emma announced suddenly. “You have to go.”

“Excuse me?” Regina looked up abruptly, staring at Emma and clearly taking offence.

“I am not kicking you out or anything,” She started. But yeah, she kind of was. “I just can’t work with you moving around in my living room making a hole in my carpet and supervising my every move.”  

“Ms. Swan…” It sounded like a warning.

“Look, you work too much,” It was an understatement. She continued quickly when Regina’s eyes started to narrow. “Now trust me to do my job and enjoy your Saturday. Take some rest. I’ll do my best to get you something.”

“The trial is on Monday,” Regina answered somberly.  

“I dealt with worse deadlines before,” Emma assured here. “But trust me here, ok?”

Regina stared at her for seconds to count before nodding briefly.

“Keep me posted,” She said finally, grabbing her purse. “I can see me out,” She added when Emma started to get up. “Also,” Regina waved the book before putting it down, and Emma could swear there was a smile fighting its way to her boss’s lips “very didactic reading.”

Emma opened her mouth, but when she managed to make a sound, Regina had already left. After a moment, she looked around the empty apartment and took a breath, trying not to overthink everything. “Okay,” she said to herself. “So _now_ , let’s do this.”

**~SQ~**

* * *

 

“I don’t like carrots!” Henry protested, looking at the plate in front of him.

“Henry,” Regina looked at him very seriously, although her voice remained sweet. “You know very well you have to eat your vegetables, or else you won’t get any dessert.”

“That’s not fair!” He whined, crossing his arms across his chest, frowning and pouting.

Regina glanced at Katherine and David, at the other side of the table, mutely apologising. Henry wasn’t usually a difficult kid, but he was a kid nonetheless.

“You know these are not carrots, right?” David intervened, focusing on the little boy.

Henry looked back at him, defiantly, like he knew what David was trying to do and wouldn’t fall for it. “Yes, they are.”

“Oh, no,” David went on, grabbing one of the tiny carrots in his hand. “These are _fingers_.”

“They are not!” Henry shouted, but the amusement in his voice was clear enough.

“But they are! Little fingers of boys and girls that pissed the cook off.”

“Language, Dave!” Katherine scolded him. Henry didn’t seem to mind.

“Fingers are not orange,” He tried again.

“They are when they are cooked.”

“That’s just disgusting,” Regina rolled her eyes.

David smiled at Henry and bit one of the carrots in half. “ _Delicious_ ,” He told the boy. “I would eat them all, if I were you. Wouldn’t want to make the cook mad.”

Henry looked at his plate again, now an expression of fear and wonder on his face, and sheepishly nibbled at his carrots. David winked at the kid. Regina tried her best not to huff. Great, now she would be raising a potential canibal.   

“You know I was meaning to meet the chef, right?” Kat told her husband, a note of impatience in her voice.

“Yeah, I bet Henry wants to meet him too, right, pal?” David teased and the kid widened his eyes and shook his head in a dramatic and forceful way. The man laughed and even Regina had to contain a chuckle.

Katherine didn’t seem so amused. They all resumed eating and Regina carefully eyed the couple. Now she got what her friend had been trying to tell her lately. Something about them was truly off. They didn’t touch each other, they didn’t talk much, they didn’t look each other in the eyes.

It was like the whole time they were somewhere else.

The only thing was, it was mutual. And maybe even Katherine hadn’t realized yet. She was as far away as her husband. The tense silence was broken by the muffled buzz of Regina’s cellphone. She looked at the screen and felt a buzz starting in her stomach too; it read _Door dummy._

Truth be told, it wasn't like her to save the contacts on her phone with anything other than their real names, but Ms. Swan had certainly earned _that_ one.

“I’m sorry, I have to take this. Would you mind watching Henry for a moment?”

“Of course not,” Kat waved at her and Mills got up in a hurry, the phone still buzzing.

“Behave, you little finger-eater monster,” She winked at her son before walking to the reception area and taking the call. “Ms.Swan! I’ve been trying to call you the whole afternoon!”

“Yeah, sorry, I was busy,” The voice at the other end didn’t sound apologetic at all.

“I hope you were _busy_ finding me something useful,” Regina hissed over the phone. “I’ll be by your house again in a hour.”

“About that,” Emma said, cleaning her throat. “I’m not home.”

“Then where are you?”

“Connecticut.”

“ _What_?”

“I found a lead and had to come. I just arrived, actually.”

“Are you aware the trial is on Monday? How do you leave town without consulting me first?!” Regina wasn’t one to yell in public, but her throat was aching at the effort to contain herself.

“Yes, I am aware! That’s exactly why I didn’t have time to _consult you first._ Look, it’s a good lead. I’ll be back tomorrow night, we’ll have all Monday morning to go through what I find here.”

“Tell me about this lead _right now_.”

“I can’t, I’m late. I’ll text you later.”

“Ms.Swan!”

“Just fucking trust me on this, alright?” Emma spat back. “I have something on the guy. Just let me do my job.”

Regina breathed in deeply. Her cheeks were heated and the buzzing in her stomach was louder. She didn’t even know what the hell was that. Rage, probably.

“Then you better do a damn _nice_ job, Swan.”

“I will, boss,” The blonde replied. “As always.” Then she hung up and left Regina fuming at the restaurant hall.

_If you mess my case, Swan, I’ll have your head on a plate._

Well, maybe Henry wasn’t the only potential canibal of the family, after all.

**~SQ~**

* * *

 

Emma threw herself on the bed, yawning. She had just arrived from Connecticut and her body was sore from the plane. She felt like she hadn’t slept for two days now and her head was throbbing.

Of course, one look at the envelope on the bedside and she knew it was all worth. The next morning she would have on her hand one happy Evil Queen. Emma smiled absently-minded at the thought and it took her a few moments to realize the bip coming from her bag.

She groaned before getting out of bed and reaching for her phone. Mulan was calling her.

“Hey, Hua, what’s up?”

“Hi,” Mulan replied at the other end. “Hm, not much. I was on call this weekend, just got out of the station.”

“Yeah, I was kind of on call too,” Emma said, muffling another yawn at the back of her hand.

“So, do you want to hang out or something?”

Well, Emma wanted to sleep. But something in Mulan’s tone shoot her alarm. That and the fact Mulan never asked her to _hang out._ She would say “let’s watch a movie” or “let’s grab a bite” or “let’s go shooting”, but _hang out_? That was weird behavior.   

“Yeah, sure. Want to come over? We can order some pizza.”

“Pizza sounds good. I’ll be there in twenty.”

“Alright,” Emma nodded to nobody and hung up.

If she wouldn't sleep, she needed a shower. And coffee. She was just finishing the second cup when the doorbell rang.

“Hello, traveling pants,” August greeted her when Emma opened the door. He was carrying a six-pack in one hand and a giant pizza in the other.

“Hey, how did you know I was back?”

“There is an app you can use to track flights and stuff,” He told her like it was pretty obvious, and trespassed her to enter the apartment.

“Yeah, it doesn’t sound stalkerish at all,” Emma deadpanned.

“What a guy can do? My first weekend in town and you freaking leave the state!”

“I’m sorry, man. I really had to.”

“Don’t apologize to me. If the Evil Queen showed up at my door demanding my services… Boy, wouldn’t I comply.”

“You’re gross,” Emma rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Actually, I have another friend coming over.”

“Come on, the blondie again? It’s not one-night stand if you keep doing it on a daily basis, you know?”

“First, we skipped Saturday, so it wouldn’t be daily basis,” Swan pointed out, looking at the man already very comfortable on her couch. “Second, it’s not her.”

“Oh, do we have a rotation system going on or something?” He smirked.

“Shut up, it’s just a friend. Mulan, remember? The cop who pointed me out for this job.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Booth grinned. “Good, I really want to meet her.”

“You do?”

“I do. Along with the rest of this new gang of yours,” He said and Emma smirked. Yeah, she wanted them all to get to know August too.

The doorbell rang again and Emma walked back to the door. Mulan nodded at her as they exchanged a few words. She was also carrying a six-pack.

“This is my friend, August Booth,” Emma indicated the man, who got up to greet the officer. “August, this is Mulan Hua.”

“Nice to meet you,” They said in unison, shaking hands.

“So, you said you were on call?” Mulan raised an eyebrow at Emma, when they were all sitting again.

“Yeah. Big case. Ruby was busy, so I jumped in. Had to go to Connecticut yesterday.”

“I want to hear this story!” Booth demanded, opening three bottles and handing two over.

Then Emma talked. They drank and ate pizza as August made pontual comments and jokes. Mulan, as usual, wasn’t saying much. That wouldn’t mean anything, if it weren't for the fact she wasn’t even giving away that shy smile of hers that appeared when she was entertained. And, well, August was nothing if not an entertainer.     

“And what about you?” Emma asked at some point. “How was your weekend?”

Mulan shrugged. “You know, I was on duty, so…”

“Tough?”

“Yeah. Armed robbery last night. One victim,” Mulan trailed off, sipping her beer. “A young woman, you know? Cute. Redhead.” She said in a distant murmur, and Emma only nodded.   

They were all silent for a moment.

“I’ll just hit the toilet, be right back,” Mulan said before placing her bottle on the center table and walking out of the room.

“Hm,” August murmured when she was gone. “What do you think is going on with her? I mean, isn’t she like an experienced cop? One would think she would be a little more used to corps by now, right?”

“Yeah, very sensitive of you,” Emma rolled her eyes.

“Come on,” Booth stared back at her. “I just mean her life will be pretty shitty if that’s what the job always does to her.”

“She is just shaken because the victim looked like the girl she’s dating. It made her realize she likes Aurora better than she thought. She just needs some time to digest it, alright?”

August frowned and gaped at Emma. “What the fuck?! How did you get all that from the fucking two sentences she gave you?”

Emma shrugged.

“What? Do you guys communicate telepathically? Read each other’s body language?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

August scoffed at her and sipped his beer again. “Now I’m just jealous.”

Emma chuckled and bumped his shoulder slightly. Mulan came back to the room and reclaimed her seat in the armchair in front of them.

“So, tell me about this girl you are dating,” August said to her and Mulan’s eyes managed to get even narrower.

“Smooth-Booth,” Emma sighed when Mulan glared at her.

“It was only one date.”

“Ok, and how was that?” The man asked, leaning on the couch and crossing his legs.

“It was nice.”

“ _Nice_? That’s your word choice?”

“Come on, don’t start this,” Emma half chuckled, half scolded her friend.

“No, come on. I just want you to know, Mulan, that we have words like _nice_ , which is perfectly acceptable. But then we have words like _amazing_ , or _incredible_ , or _spectacular_. So, give it some thought and try again.”

Mulan didn’t seem particularly pleased with the lecture, but she sighed and said, “It was… wonderful.”

“There we go!” August clapped and Emma chuckled as Mulan rolled her eyes. “Why is it so hard to express feelings properly? Jesus, give me a hiperbole-woman at any time.”

“Maybe you should look for a queer,” Mulan spat back and Swan laughed.

August smiled too. “Maybe I should.”

**~SQ~**

* * *

 

Emma chose to sit at the back of the court. Something about court rooms always managed to rile her up. Not in a way that made her scream or anything… but well, every time she had got herself into one in the past, it hadn’t been a blast - to say the least.

But now she was there for a whole different reason. Work. Who would’ve thought, right?

The defense attorney was just finishing the questioning with Mark Stewarts, and they had been right: the pharmaceutical _was_ trying to blame the infertility on poor Mr. Johnson's diabetes, instead of on their own obviously flawed medicine.  

Regina sat, all composed and in a power suit, in the table before the jury with her second chair attorney and Mr. Johnson. He was so pale Emma thought he could faint at any moment. The woman seemed to notice that too, because she whispered something to him that made him nod fervently and take a few breaths.

They were ready. So ready. Regina scrutinized every bit of information Emma had for her that morning, and oh boy, was that good information…

When it was their time to do the questioning, Regina took her sweet time, arranging the papers on the desk, deliberatively walking towards the doctor and smiling. Smiling a very cold smile that made a chill run down Emma’s spine. It was a predator one and it was… exhilarating; for Emma, at least. Not so much for the serious looking but positively sweating Mark Stewarts.

“Dr. Stewarts, good afternoon,” She started in a velvet voice.

“Good afternoon.”

“So… the defense seems to think that you are a very qualified doctor to rule whether my client’s diabetes is a key factor in this case. We’ll see about that, I suppose,” She grinned sweetly, and it managed to be worse than the cold smile. Emma so didn’t want to be in Mark Stewarts’ pants.

“Objection! Badgering, your honor!” The defense attorney shouted from his chair.

“Sustained. Ms. Mills, just ask the questions…” The judge said with a bored expression on his face.

“Dr. Stewarts, do you believe that the recently diagnosed diabetes type two of my client is the cause of his also newly diagnosed infertility?”

“I believe it is a strong possibility,” He answered quickly.

“Possibility? So you are not certain?” She pressed.

“Objection! Calls for speculation!”

“Sustained. Ask questions, but the ones you can ask, Ms. Mills…”

“Let me rephrase this. Dr. Stewarts, do you have any proof the diabetes caused Mr. Johnson’s infertility?”

“Well, not a conclusive proof, but-”

“Then you cannot do anything other than speculate, can you, Dr. Stewarts?”

“I am speculating as much as the doctor that says it was the migraine medicine that caused it,” The man argued, adjusting himself on the seat.

“Dr. Stewarts, do you consider yourself qualified to talk about diabetes?” Regina asked him about his professionalism with the same levity she would ask what time it was.  

“Objection! Calls for speculation again!”

“Sustained, Ms. Mills…” The judge warned lightly.

The woman beamed apologetically at the judge.

She could be charismatic when she wanted, that was for sure. Emma was on the edge of her sit, because she knew exactly what the woman was doing. And Regina played her part perfectly.

“Dr. Stewarts, am I right to say you have a degree and masters in medicine?”

“Yes.”

“Was your masters’ research about diabetes?”

“No, but that does not disquali-”

“No? Could you tell me more about your masters, then?” Regina’s face was now neutral.

“Well… yes. I have masters in a research on kidney failure in elderly, by the college of Michigan, and…”

“I am sorry…” Regina interrupted, her face still carefully neutral. “You are saying you don’t have masters by the University of Connecticut?”

The man’s face turned white. Emma could almost count the beads of sweat on his forehead.

“No, I do not.”

“Even though you applied for masters there, based on a diabetes type two research?”  

“Objection!” And finally, the defense attorney was quick on his feet. “Beyond the scope, your honor.”

“I fail to see where a diabetes study of a specialist summoned to talk about my client’s diabetes is beyond the scope.”

“She is right on that one,” The judge conceded. “Overruled. You can answer.”

“Well...” The man responded, clearly taken aback and as red as a tomato. “It was a failed attempt.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” Regina asked rhetorically, and the cold smile made an appearance again. “And why is that?”

There was a moment of silence in court. Regina had them all eating in the palm of her hand. Since she had began questioning, the whole room shifted, but now, now it was the climax, and she was exuding a powerful aura. Emma understood just then why she was one of the best attorneys in town. It wasn’t just because of her knowledge… but everything else.

Emma just couldn’t stay still. Her feet were moving under her sit, her hands squeezing the hem of her shirt. It was a whole new show… watching Regina break someone that wasn’t her… It was, dare she say… _sexy_. Regina was sexy.

“Dr. Stewarts, answer the question,” The judge ordered.

“And may I remember you are under oath, Dr. Stewarts,” Regina went on.

The man took a deep breath.

“Because I tempered the semen samples of the control group,” He said in a weak voice.

Regina smirked as if she just had a banquet and the prey was delicious.

“You tempered the samples of your research, got disqualified for your masters, had to change states to restart your career…”

“Objection! Badgering, Your Honor!”

Regina didn’t stop. “And still you claim to be a specialist at diabetes and a reliable witness, Dr. Stewarts? How are we supposed to believe your opinion, your _speculation_ , if when results didn’t work for you before, you had no problem altering it to best serve your purposes?”

“Your Honor!”

“That’s enough, Ms. Mills,” The judge said, with a tiresome sigh.

Regina gave him a brief nod. “That would be all, Your Honor.”

 


End file.
